Reproductive Justice: A Socialist Feminist Approach

By

Rachel Reyes, Claire Lobenfeld, Carley Towne

Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Socialist feminists have long pointed to the fact that capitalists rely on the reproductive labor, usually of women, to create and sustain productive workers. This includes giving birth, but also the conditions and institutions under which workers are raised and reproduced. Socialist feminists consider how women’s collective reproductive health is dictated by capitalism’s need to reproduce labor power. Such an analysis allows us to broaden our solutions from individual rights to collective justice. But how does reproductive justice also inform and enrich our socialist feminist analysis? Incorporating a reproductive justice framework prioritizes the fact that personal bodily autonomy is foundational to struggles for freedom.

By interweaving a socialist feminist and reproductive justice analysis, socialist feminists move beyond the question: can you pay for your abortion? We also ask, why does one’s ability to pay for child care influence one’s decision to have a child? Why does the labor to sustain that child fall disproportionately on the backs of women, particularly working class women of color and women from the global south? In this panel, we will explore the many ways in which a reproductive justice framework can sharpen our socialist feminist understanding of collective justice.

Rachel Reyes is a member of Democratic Socialists of America, including helping run their Socialist Feminist Education Group.

Claire Lobenfeld is a writer, editor, and organizer based in Los Angeles. Her workhas appeared in various publications, including The Village Voice and Jezebel. She is currently the Managing Editor of FACT Magazine.

Carley Towne organizes with DSA Los Angeles, including helping run their Socialist Feminist Education Group